mana
Syllables: ma·naUK/ˈmɑː.nə//ˈmɑ.nə/
mana noun: power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people. Also the alternative form of mina.
Noun
mana (usually uncountable, plural manas)
- Power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.
- They further required that a certain number of the old Chiefs should be liberally pensioned by the Government, and placed upon a footing of equality with European gentlemen of independent means, in consideration of their resigning their "mana" as Chiefs in favor of the new system […]1862 January 25, Thomas H. Smith, chapter 4, in Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand, Wellington: House of Representatives, →OCLC, pages 10 and 12
- The human tribe partakes of the mana or life-force of the animal, and is strengthened […]1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 61
- Magical energy.
- Mana is the name we give to the power behind magic.1969 April, Larry Niven, “Not Long Before the End”, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
- However, all such magik requires the mages [sic] own "MANA" or "internal power" to make it work. Without the mana, a spoken spell is just so much gibberish.1977, David Hargrave, “Magik, What It Is and What It Does” (chapter VII), in The Arduin Grimoire
Also used as
mana is also the alternative form of mina.
mana is also the alternative spelling of manna.
mana meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Telugu and Malayalam
mana in Tamil
- மானா
mana in Urdu
- مانا, منا
mana in Telugu
- మాన, మనా, మానా
mana in Malayalam
- മാന, മന
More languagesFewer languages
- mana in Kannada
- ಮನಾ, ಮಾನ
- mana in Gujarati
- માના, મના
Examples of mana in a sentence
- But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, OCLC 71368859; republished London: Folio Society...
- Among the Maori sovereignty was the result of mana—power based on hereditary rank and personal achievement.2001 September, Aldo Matteucci, “Language and Diplomacy – A Practitioner's View”, in Jovan Kurbalija, Hannah Slavik, editors, Language and...
- On a number of occasions in recent years apologies have been offered to Māori because of past offences to their mana and invasions of their rights as tangata whenua.2012, Harold Hill, “Te Ope Whakaora, the Army that Brings Life”, in Hugh [Douglas] Morrison, Lachy Paterson, Brett Knowles, Murray Rae...
- Lands generate mana, which is required to cast spells.1993, Richard Garfield, “Overview of Play”, in Magic: The Gathering: A Fantasy Trading Card Game [rulebook], Limited Edition Alpha edition...
Forms of mana
| plural | manas |
|---|
Origin of mana
Borrowed from Māori mana, ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *mana, from Proto-Oceanic *mana. The use of "mana" for "magical energy" in role-playing games originated from Larry Niven, when he wrote the short story, "Not Long Before the End", in 1969. It was later popularised by his The Magic Goes Away setting.
Words formed from mana
Phrases with mana
Words that rhyme with mana
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- Guadiana
- ikebana
- kana
- mañana
- nana
- nirvana
- poinciana
- Rilkeana
- yana
- Alaskana
- Arthuriana
- Australiana
- Bondiana
- breweriana
- bwana
- Canadiana
- Chauceriana
- comicana
- cricketana
- dhyana
- Disneyana
- Edwardiana
- fata morgana
- fistiana
- Forteana
- ghana
- golfiana
- Guyana
- hentaigana
- Johnsoniana
- Kellyana
- Kiwiana
- liana
- librariana
- man'yōgana
- militariana
- ohana
- omniana
- parmigiana
- Pompeiana
- prana
- Qiana
- railroadiana
- railwayana
- Rosh Hashanah
- Setswana
- Shakespeareana
- Shaviana
Questions about mana
- What does mana mean?
- Mana means power, prestige; specifically, a form of supernatural energy in Polynesian religion that inheres in things or people.
- What is mana in Tamil?
- Mana in Tamil is மானா. See Mana meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use mana in a sentence?
- But in popular estimation their essential virtue derived from the personal mana of the sovereign.
- What part of speech is mana?
- Mana is a noun.
- How do you pronounce mana?
- Mana is pronounced /ˈmɑː.nə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of mana?
- The plural of mana is manas.
Words near mana in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mana (page history and authors); mana (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mana (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mana (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mana (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mana (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); mana (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-mana.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pohewatanga-mana (NZ English).wav.
Cite this entry: “mana.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mana. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.